Not over yet. Even though a jury ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in his defamation suit against ex-wife Amber Heard, their legal battle is far from over.
“She is 100 percent appealing on freedom of speech and is telling friends she is determined to take it all the way to the Supreme Court if she has to,” a source told Us Weekly in June 2022 after the verdict was announced. “She is not able to comprehend that she lost.” The insider added that while the Aquaman star has not yet filed the appeal “she is convinced that she will win.”
Depp, who was married to Heard from 2015 to 2017, filed a lawsuit against his Rum Diary costar for defamation, citing an op-ed that she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018. In her essay, Heard revealed that she was a survivor of domestic abuse, though she did not name the Pirates of the Caribbean star in the post. (The news outlet has since added an editor’s note to the article with the trial results.)
After a two-month trial, a jury ruled in favor of Depp, awarding the Kentucky native $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. His punitive award was subsequently reduced to $350,000 due to a Virginia state law that set a cap on the maximum amount that can be awarded.
The Justice League actress was also awarded $2 million after the jury found that Depp’s attorney had made a defamatory statement about her when he alleged that her abuse claims were a hoax.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words,” Heard said in a statement to Us after the verdict was announced. “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband. I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.”
The Magic Mike XXL star continued: “I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.”
Depp, for his part, released a statement of his own following the jury’s ruling, in which he noted he was “humbled” and pleased with the decision. “From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome,” he said in a statement to Us. “Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Heard’s plans to appeal the verdict:
According to court documents obtained by Us in July 2022, Heard's team officially filed an appeal in Depp's defamation case against her. "We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment," a spokesperson for the Texas native told Us exclusively. "We are therefore appealing the verdict. While we realize today's filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice." Evelyn Hockstein/AP/Shutterstock
"The disappointment I feel today is beyond words," the Never Back Down star told Us in June 2022. “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband." She continued: “It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,” Heard argued in her statement. “I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won [a libel trial against The Sun] in the U.K. ... I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly." Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF/Shutterstock
“Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that," the Mortdecai star said in a statement to Us, adding that he was "overwhelmed" by the "outpouring of love and the colossal support and kindness from around the world. I also hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media." The day after the jury reached a decision, Depp performed alongside friend Jeff Beck at a concert in Gateshead, England, where the pair announced that they had recorded an album together. "We actually made an album. I don’t know how it happened. It will be out in July," Beck told the crowd. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock
During a July 2022 appearance on the Today show the day after the verdict, Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft stated that she was "absolutely not" able to pay the $10.35 million in damages. Steve Helber/AP/Shutterstock
While speaking with Savannah Guthrie, Heard's attorney claimed that Depp's team wanted to "demonize Amber" and "suppress the evidence" against the actor after he lost a libel suit against The Sun in the U.K. in November 2020. Bredehoft also noted that the vitriol against Heard on social media also played a role. "How can you not [see it]? They go home every night, they have families, their families are on social media," she said. "There's no way they couldn't have been influenced by it and it was horrible. It really was lopsided [against Heard]." Steve Helber/AP/Shutterstock
Three days after the verdict, a source confirmed to Us that the Texas native "100 percent plans to appeal." According to Bredehoft, Heard was affected by the ramifications that this case could have on other survivors of domestic abuse in the future. "One of the first things she said is, 'I am so sorry to all those women out there. This is a setback for women in and outside of the courtroom,'" she said on Today. "She really feels the burden [of that]." Jim Lo Scalzo/AP/Shutterstock
In her post, Whitney also claimed that the "cards were stacked against" Heard in the trial. "I'm so sorry that it wasn't reflected in the decision made by this jury, but I will never give up on you," she wrote. "And neither will anyone who stands with you. Forever by your side." Steve Helber/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
In the wake of the trial, Heard's sister Whitney — who testified on the Danish Girl actress' behalf — shared a public message of support for her. "I still stand with you, sissy," Whitney wrote via Instagram in June 2022. "Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the U.K., and for being the voice of so many who can't speak to the things that happen behind closed doors." She continued: "I am so honored to testify for you, and I would do it a million times over because I know what I saw and because the truth is forever on your side." Peter MacDiarmid/Shutterstock
Heard's legal team filed a 43-page memorandum on July 1 demanding that the verdict be tossed due to insufficient evidence and a new trial should take place. The filing argues that instead of proving Heard hurt his career with her 2018 essay in The Washington Post — which is why he sued her for defamation — he was instead trying to disprove the initial 2016 domestic violence allegations, which were not up for judgement. Depp's team claiming they'd seek to limit damage claims to the period December 18, 2018 through November 2, 2020. Instead of proving how the op-ed negative affected him in that time, the Edward Scissorhands star's lawyers “proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were actually false,” the filing stated. KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Without the U.K. judgement (in which the court ruled Depp assaulted Heard in 14 alleged incidents, so The Sun was not libelous when calling him a "wife beater") or allowing Heard to submit evidence from when the alleged abuse took place, Heard's team claims the verdict is unfair. He didn't provide evidence that the op-ed was why he lost his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. There were articles noting he wouldn't be in the sixth film more than two months before Heard's essay was published. Depp was never contracted to do a sixth film, per the filing, so he cannot claim damages for a film he was never contracted to do and was already in development without him on board before Heard's essay was published, per the 43-page document. STEVE HELBER/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Heard's July 1 filing claims that one juror was not properly verified. Juror 15's listed birth year was 1945, but he apparently didn't look like a 77-year-old. "Publicly available information demonstrates that he appears to have been born in 1970,” Heard's legal team stated. “This discrepancy raises the question whether Juror 15 actually received a summons for jury duty and was properly vetted by the court to serve on the jury.” Shutterstock
In July 2022, Judge Penney Azcarate denied Heard's request for a mistrial after the actress and her attorneys claimed that one juror was not properly verified. The judge declared that the juror was properly questioned by both Heard and Depp's legal teams. "The parties also questioned the jury panel for a full day and informed the Court that the jury panel was acceptable," Azcarate wrote in her decision. "Therefore, due process was guaranteed and provided to all parties in this litigation ... there is no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing." Azcarate added that Heard and her team didn't allege that the juror's inclusion "prejudiced" her in any way. "The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated and reached a verdict," the judge continued. "The only evidence before this Court is that this juror and all jurors followed their oaths, the Court’s instructions, and orders. This Court is bound by the competent decision of the jury." Michael Reynolds/AP/Shutterstock
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